The Runaway Princess
by Cloverthg
Summary: Being a princess isn't as fun as everyone thinks it is. All you do is sit around all day, doing nothing according to Princess Clove of Panem. Clove just wants to live an exciting life as a soldier. But when her parents set up an arranged marriage with the neighboring country, Clove wants nothing to do with Prince Cato. But soon, she slowly starts to fall the blue eyed prince.
1. Chapter 1: Engaged

(Clove's POV)

Being a princess isn't as fun as everyone thinks it is. There's no such thing as fun. All you get to do is sit around all day, doing absolutely nothing. Quite a waste of time if you ask me.

My name is Princess Clove Grace Sevina. I'm the Princess of Panem - an average sized country with average people. Nothing is wrong with our country, except that absolutely nothing happens around here.

I was sitting in my room one day, staring out the window when there were suddenly three kocks on my door.

"Come in," I say. This is where the madness starts.

"Clove! Your new gowns came in today! They absolutely are FABULOUS! Your mother scheduled a fitting for them right now! We're on a tight schedule so we must be quick! We have a big, big, big day ahead of us!" My way too perky maid burst through the door carrying a large wheeled cart that had three dresses on it.

I sighed and got up. Dress fittings are the worst. It takes so much time and effort to get into one dress and then I have to take it off and repeat. It's such an annoyance.

My maid takes me into the bathroom and helps me into the first dress. It's pink with golden swirls on it. I take a few steps in it. Sadly it fits which is a disappointment because it is an ugly dress.

Next I try on a sapphire blue dress. The corset is an even lighter blue than the sapphire. Almost a teal shade. The dress is nice I guess.

Finally I try on a gold and black dress that ends at my ankles not the floor. I can actually move in it. It's beautiful.

"I like this one," I tell my maid.

"It's gorgeous on you," she says.

After I get the dresses off, I change into my golden armor. I grab my knives and arm myself.

On my way out of the castle, I try to be as quiet as possible. I'm not allowed out of the castle grounds without guards. I'm known for trouble. When I was ten, I went to the village and ended up trading my diamond necklace for a sword. When I was twelve, I took off into the woods to try and track down a cougar. My parents had contacted our neighboring country, Avenia, and started a huge search party. They found my passd out in the woods next to the cougar's dead body.

I tiptoed through the Grand Hall. _Almost there, _I think. _Almost there!_

"Clove! There you are" my mother and father call out. Shoot.

"Hi Mom. Hi Dad," I say turning around and smiling.

"Sweetheart, we need to talk to you."

I follow them to the living room. We sit down in big cushiony chairs next to a fireplace.

"Clove, as you know, things aren't going so well with Avenia. There may even be a war brewing," my father says.

I nod. "We have plenty of soldiers. We can take on Avenia anyday." I say.

He frowns. "That isn't the way to think. Even if we could, we can't risk losing a war. Which is why we need to end this feud before it even starts." he tells me.

"Why did you need to tell me this?" I ask. I know all of this.

"Well, Clove you can actually help us with the problem," my mother says.

I perked up. "You mean I can fight in the army?" I ask. I've always wanted to be a soldier rather than a stupid princess.

My mother laughs. "Goodness, no. We have arranged for you to marry King Brutus and Queen Enobaria's son Cato to unite the countries as allies."

My heart nearly stops. This has to be a joke. They can't be serious. Not Cato of all people. The cocky, selfish Prince who thinks he's the most amazing person on the planet. Hah, my parents are hilarious.

I burst out laughing. "You guys are good! You almost had me fooled for a second! Ha!" I exclaim.

My parents glance at each other. "Clove, we are serious. This is the only way we can stop the war before it starts." my father says.

Anger shoots through me. "Why? Because your too scared to go into war? So instead your just giving me away to some selfish prince? What kind of horrible parents are you?" I scream at them. I stand up, run out of the room and leave the castle, climb on my horse and ride away to the woods.

* * *

**Hey guys! I just wanted to thank anyone who's reading this because this is my second actual story so I hope you enjoy it! Please review, I would love to know what you think of this story so far.**

**~Cloverthg**


	2. Chapter 2: Cato

These woods are the only place where I feel free. There's no guards to stop me from doing anything. There's no maids constantly bothering me. Also, there's no parents who would rather give their daughter away to another country to stop a war that we would clearly win.

I've met Prince Cato before. He's selfish, cocky and he thinks he is the most amazing person in the world. Honestly, I'd rather stab myself and die than spend the rest of my life with him. Then again, what choice do I have?

I dismount my horse and tied it up to a tree branch. I sit down on the forest ground and take my helmet off. Rubbing my head, I sigh. My parents don't realize what a huge mistake they are making.

I've always loved these woods. I come here whenever I have problems. The woods help me think.

After spending an hour staring at the trees and thinking, I decide that heading home would be the better thing to do. Maybe if I was calmer they would reconsider.

I mount my horse and gallop to the castle. I can almost hear other hoofbeats along with my horse's, but I ignore them. It's just my imagination.

But if it actually was my imagination, a cantering horse wouldn't have came out of nowhere and passed me. This spooked my horse who reared and stood on his hind legs, his fore legs in the air.

"Woah, boy," I desperately try to calm the animal but it's too late. I fall backward out of the saddle and on to the hard forest floor.

The fall knocks the wind out of me and for several seconds, I lay on the ground gasping for breath. As soon as oxygen enters my body again, I sit p scanning the area for the attacker.

Drawing my sword, I stand up and get ready to attack. The only sound I hear now is laughter. I put my sword away.

"You should have seen the look on your face, Princess!" The man's laughter echoes throughout the forest. He draws his sword and imitates me, looking around the forest quickly.

"How dare you?" I say angrily. He puts the sword away and continues laughing.

"Ooh, what are you going to do, Clover? Tell your parents and have me arrested? Not going to happen," he says chuckling.

Only one person has ever called me Clover in my life and that was Prince Cato when we were kids.

"Remember me, Clover?" he calls.

"Yeah, how could I forget?" I say annoyed.

"Well, did you miss me?" he asked.

"Hardly," I respond mounting my horse.

"Ouch, Clover that hurt right here." He pointed to his heart.

I roll my eyes and trot away on my horse. Seconds later, he is trotting next to me.

"Gosh, can't you take a hint to go away?" I ask not looking at him.

"Yeah, I just choose not to go away," he replies.

"What are you even doing out here?" I ask.

"Your parents invited my family here to celebrate...us. I felt like a nice little ride, so I came here. What about you?" He fires the question right back at me.

"My parents told me about...us and I stormed out and came here for some peace. Obviously I didn't get any." I smirk at him and he grins.

"Well, you've certainly gotten arrogant since I last saw you," he says.

"And I see you still like to sneak up on innocent people like a little kid," I reply.

We approach the castle and we dismount our horses. The stable hands lead them away to the stable and Cato and I go inside the castle.

I walk upstairs to my room and collapse onto my bed. Now that Cato's here there is not way out of the engagement. Not when he and his parents are here.

I would give anything to be a free villager. Sure, there wouldn't be any luxuries but I could marry whom I chose. And I chose no one.

There are a few knocks on my door.

"Come in," I say lazily. My maid enters the room.

"Your Highness, your parents have invited the royal family of Avenia to dinner. You must get ready now," she tells me.

Ugh. Dinner with the idiots. "Thank you," I say. "By the way, please don't call me that. I prefer Clove."

She nods and leaves my room.

I select the gold dress from earlier and slip it on. There's no corset or anything so I don't need any help. I put my hair into a bun and slip a golden leaf tiara on my head.

When it is time for dinner, I walk to the dining room. Everyone else is already there.

"Clover!" Cato whisper-shouts. "I saved you a seat!" He points to the chair next to him. There are no other seats left, so I sigh and sit down.

When the servants bring out the food, I devour most of it in a few minutes. I don't bother to sit up or have proper posture or anything. Dinner is about eating, not being graceful.

"So, Clove," Queen Enobaria starts. "Are you excited for your wedding?" she asks me.

My mother looks at me. From her stare, I can tell that I am supposed to be extremely excited.

"Why yes. I think it will be lovely. And the food will be amazing," I add digging in to the mashed potatoes on my plate.

My mother glares at me. Queen Enobaria looks shocked and Cato is trying very hard not to laugh.

I look up and see everyone staring at me. "What? I like food," I say confused why that is a bad thing.

Cato chuckles and goes back to eating his meat.

* * *

After we are done eating the main course, the servants bring dessert out. Chocolate covered strawberries. Ugh. I hate fruit for dessert.

I awkwardly suck the chocolate off the strawberries and put the fruit back on my plate. I look up to see the entire table staring at me. Again.

I fake a smile and continue eating the chocolate.

* * *

After dinner and dessert, I go back into my room. About ten minutes later, my mother came inside my room.

"What do you think you were doing?" she asks me.

"What did I do?" I ask.

"You completely embarrassed yourself, your father and I and the rest of Panem!" She almost screams at me.

"Is this about the strawberries? Because you know how much I hate fruit for dessert," I say.

"No, Clove. This is not just about the strawberries. It's about that and all of the other comments you made about everything throughout the entire dinner. I wouldn't be surprised if Prince Cato backs out of the engagement!" she yells.

"At least I wouldn't have to marry him then!" I fire back at her.

"Clove, you are the Princess. Start acting like it for once." And with that, she left her room.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took over an hour to write, so please take two seconds and write a quick review. Tell me what you liked or disliked or whatever you thought. I'd love to know!**

**Thanks!**

**~Cloverthg**


	3. Chapter 3: Busy

For breakfast, I eat in my room. I have tutoring, dance classes, manners classes, and just about a class for every royal-type thing ever. And I get to do this all before noon. Great.

I am rushed to eat my breakfast and then I must change into my school clothes. I put on the blue dress I got yesterday, grab my book and rush down the hall to the school room. I run into Cato and I almost crash into him.

"Woah, careful, Clover,' he says chuckling.

"Not now, I'm going to be late!" I call over my shoulder as I try to get in the room on time.

I enter the room two minutes late. "Clove, you need to hurry up next time," the tutor tells me strictly.

"Maybe if I actually had time, I would," I mumble under my breath.

"What was that?" the tutor asks me.

"Nothing," I reply opening my math book.

* * *

After the tutoring session, I rush back to my room and change into my leotard and tights. I dash to the dance room where I get to do ballet. My mother says that ballet will hopefully make me more graceful.

But for all I know, ballet isn't graceful. It's painful. The shoes hurt my feet and I actually have to stand on my toes. It's horrible and the teacher is strict.

"Clove Grace Sevina, you are late," she says pointing to the clock. I am five minutes late. Seriously my teachers have no idea what it's like to constantly be changing clothes and classes.

"It's not such a bad thing. Five minutes less of you," I mumble. My teacher looks at me sternly.

"I don't want anymore of your attitude, Princess," she says. "Now, lets warmup!"

* * *

After that, I head back to my room and change into my blue dress again. It's time to learn manners. And that is something that I absolutely don't have.

One of my mother's good friends, Lady Trinket had offered to teach me manners. Of course my mother had accepted the offer since back then she considered me an animal. A wild animal.

Lady Trinket is a bubbly, happy woman, but she is too perky. She dresses ridiculously and always compliments something. She says it's the polite thing to do.

When I arrive in the dining room five minutes late, she doesn't say anything. I sit down along with her.

"Clove, what is this?" She holds up a small fork.

"A dessert fork," I say.

"Correct. How about this?" Now, she holds a slightly larger fork.

"A main course fork," I say sighing. This is going to be a long hour.

* * *

After many more classes, it is finally lunch time. My food is delivered to my room. After I eat, I put on my cloak and leave the castle for a quick trip to the village.

I reach the merry little village on my horse. I leave my horse at the small stable in the village. The stable hand puts my horse in a stall and I pay him two gold coins.

"Thank you, Princess," he says bowing.

I smile and walk around the village. The people seem so joyful. The kids are dancing and playing around the streets and the adults all seem to get along. I stop at the bakery and buy a small cookie.

As I'm walking around, I bit into the cookie. A warm, chocolate sensation fills my mouth. I love the village.

"Hey Clover!" I hear someone shout. Oh no.

I turn around and see Cato riding his white stallion. He halts the horse right next to me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"Why, I'm protecting my bride, of course," he replies.

I roll my eyes. "I don't _need _protection." I start to walk away.

He dismounts the horse and walks it next to me. "Of course you do. Your unguarded, unarmed and wandering around a city. You could get lost or hurt."

"I'm not unarmed," I say.

"Ooh, Clover's ready to fight someone!" he mocks me.

"I bet I could beat you in a sword match, since your so confident about yourself," I say.

"Oh really?" Cato asks.

"Really," I say without hesitation.

"Your on," he says saddling up.

"I have to get my horse," I say turning around.

"We can come back for it later. I can take you to the castle," he offers holding his hand out.

"Fine," I say taking his hand. He swings me up on the horse behind him.

I hold on tightly. He is galloping the horse at a pretty fast speed. My cloak is flying behind me.

When we reach the castle, he helps me down from the horse.

"Thanks," I mumble.

"Your welcome, Princess," he says imitating a serpent.

We go to the weapon room putting on armor and taking our swords. Then, we go to the battle arena and start the fight.

I lunge at him while he blocks my sword with his. The fight lasts a long time, almost 20 minutes before he finally trips me and knocks my blade out of my hand.

I get up and roll my eyes.

"Ha, I told you I would beat you, Clover!" he says pointing his finger at me laughing.

"You never actually said that. I'm the one who challenged you remember?" I point out.

"You said that you could beat me, which you didn't. So ha!" Cato says.

"Fine. You won, I lost. Now can we get my horse?" I ask.

"Yeah let's go," he says.

* * *

Later that night at dinner, the adults are having a conversation without Cato and I. I quietly eat my food. I notice that my portions are a lot smaller.

"Excuse me," I wave a servant over.

"Yes your highness?" he asks.

"Could I please have a little more food? I think I got less."

He nods and takes my plate.

"Wait, no," my mother says. The servant stops in his tracks.

"Clove, you need to start watching what you are eating. You can't gain calories before your wedding," she explains.

The servant brings my plate back to me. I sigh and start to eat the rest of my food. "What am I supposed to do? Starve?" I mumble.

"Clove? Cato? We have an announcement for you guys," my mother starts.

I look up. "Queen Enobaria and I have decided that your wedding will be in a few days from now and you both will rule Avenia together." My mother looks pleased.

"A few days?" I am shocked.

"Is that even enough time?" Cato asks.

"Of course it is." My mother responds.

"Bet you can't wait to get rid of me," I add.

My mother glares at me. "Clove, you are going to be a queen in a few days. You need to start acting like one."

I roll my eyes. "I'm fifteen, Mom. I'm way to young to be getting married."

"Clove, we are not discussing this now," my mother says.

"May I be excused?" I ask, My mother nods and I leave the table running.

When I get to my room, I close my door and crawl into my bed sobbing.

"Clove, sweetie what's wrong?" my maid comes into my room.

"I can't do it. I can't get married. I'm fifteen. I don't even like Cato that way," I say. Tears are staining my face.

"You have every reason to feel like that, Clove. But I assure you, you are doing the right thing for both of our countries." she says trying to comfort me.

"So I have to sacrifice my happiness and life to do the right thing for the country?" I ask.

"Clove, it may seem bad, but it could be much worse. Cato is a very good person," she says.

I try to smile, but it's fake. "I just don't like him that way."

"Just give him a chance. I've seen you to together. He is trying. You should try too."

I nod. I've only got a few days, but maybe that's enough time to prepare to give up my youth.

* * *

**Hey guys! It's really cold here today (about -10 degrees) so I had a snow day which is why I had time to update this. I'll be pretty busy until Saturday which is when I think there will be another update. **

**Don't forget to review!**

**~Cloverthg**


	4. Chapter 4: Risky Situations

"I don't get it. Why can't I just wear pants or something?" I ask.

My mother shakes her head in exasperation. "It's a wedding, Clove. Girls have been wearing dresses to their weddings for thousands of years and we aren't going to break the tradition."

I roll my eyes. "I bet they were older than fifteen."

"You aren't getting out of this. Just try on a few dresses. We had ten made and we can make more if we need to. You'll find one." she says.

I sigh and go into the changing room. The maid helps me put on a strapless, fluffy dress with a ton of sparkles. I look at myself in disgust.

"No freaking way," I mutter as I step out of the room.

"Oh, Clove! You look beautiful." my mother says as I walk out.

"I will not wear this. Ever." I say.

My mother sighs. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's too sparkly and fluffy. If I have to wear a dress, I want it to be simple." I say.

"Fine. Go try on another one then," she says.

I step back into the dressing room and change into a sleek strapless dress with no sparkles, ruffles and any other girly thing.

I walk out of the dressing room satisfied.

My mother just looks at me. "It's simple and I wouldn't wear it, but if I can get you into a dress, then this will be fine," she says.

I smile. "Good. Can I get changed now?"

* * *

Looking out my window, I sigh. I hate being inside this castle. There are too many people who are always watching me. I put down the book I was trying to read and put on my armor. Saddling up my horse, I ride to the forest.

The wind blows at my hair which I realize that is still down. I sigh remembering that I don't have a rubber band to tie it with.

I keep riding my horse until I get to the area of the forest that I like to relax in. I dismount my horse and tie her to the tree. I loosen the saddle so she can breathe while I think.

Suddenly, I feel a knife pressed to my throat. My hand immediately reaches my belt only to realize that I never brought a sword. I pull out my dagger and kick the attacker away from me giving me a second to turn around.

"Drop the weapon," the attacker says.

I refuse. "No."

"Do you want me to kill you?" the person says.

Actually that would be better than getting married at fifteen.

"You don't know who you are dealing with," I say as I take off my helmet.

The attacker's mouth drops open for a second than he quickly closes it. "Well, well, well. Guys you can come out now."

I look around and see five figures come out of their hiding spots.

"What did you catch now, Gale?" One of the figures asks. I look at her. She is tall with dark brown hair braided down the side of her head.

"Oh nothing much, just the Princess of Panem," Gale says.

"Oh my, she much be worth a heck of a lot," the girl says.

"You can't be serious," I say.

They look at me. "Silence," Gale says.

"No. I'm the Princess here. I should be telling you what to do. You aren't going to kidnap me for money. And you are lucky that I don't approve of execution's because if my parents found out about this, that is what would happen to you," I say.

The girl smirks. "We aren't letting you go, Princess. We are only getting started."

"What the hell do you want from me?!" I spit.

"Money. And your the only one who can give us that," a voice says.

"You want money? Here. Don't let it get to your head," I say angrily as I rip my diamond necklace off my neck and throw it at their feet. I climb on my horse and ride back to the castle grinning. I just defeated criminals.

And, I'm home just in time for dinner. Oh, joy.

* * *

**Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a few weeks. Today I had a snow day which gave me plenty of time to write this. I hope you liked the chapter. **

**Also, thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! I really appreciate the feedback. Love you guys! :)**

~Cloverthg


	5. Chapter 5: Unsafe

Dinner is never fun, especially when you have to have it with your arranged fiancé and his family. I can't believe that I am getting married in a few days and that Panem and Avenia will be joined as one.

"When will the wedding happen?" I ask randomly. Knowing the date of my own wedding would make me feel a lot better than not knowing the exact date except that it will happen in a few days.

"The day after tomorrow," my mother replies. "I'm glad to see that you finally care."

I shake my head. "Oh no, I don't. I think it's nice to know the date of your own wedding, though.

My mother frowns but continues to nibble at her food slowly, starting conversations with the other adults.

I eat my food quietly just like normal. Someone kicks me under the table which causes me to look up.

"What?" I whisper facing Cato.

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I say.

"You look worn out and annoyed and upset. I'm just asking," he says.

"I'm just tired. I fell off my horse in the woods onto a rock and my entire back is really sore. I'll be fine," I lied not telling him about being attacked in the woods.

"Oh, well if anything is wrong, just tell me. I think we should get used to telling each other stuff," he says.

I nod. "I'll tell you if something is wrong. Not that I couldn't handle it by myself."

He chuckles and I continue eating.

For dessert, the servants bring out cupcakes. They give one to everyone except me. A few seconds later, I am given one that is almost two times smaller than everyone else's.

"Why the hell is mine smaller?! Is this some kind of a joke?" I shout.

My mother looks at me. "Portion controls, remember? It's a cupcake, not the end of the world."

I point at my plate. "This is not a cupcake. This is insanity."

My mother sighs. "Can't you not eat like an animal for a few more days?"

"Probably not," I say.

"Well on your wedding day, you can eat as much as you want. I just need you to lose a few pounds for your wedding," she says.

"Are you calling me fat?" I nearly scream.

"She can eat all she wants honestly. She burns it all off when she's riding," Cato steps in.

"Just forget it. I won't eat at all," I say storming off to my room.

Ten minutes later, I hear a knock at my door.

"Come in," I say.

Cato enters my room holding a plate in his hands. On top of the plate is a big cupcake. It's the same size as the huge ones my family was eating.

"How did you get this?" I ask.

"I snuck into the kitchen after dinner. You seemed pretty mad about the portion controls," he says setting the plate down on my table.

"Yeah, I was a little crazy out there. I think it isn't fair that I have to lose weight to fit into a dress for one day," I say.

"I agree. And for the record, you don't need to lose weight. Your already small enough." he says.

He's right. I'm fifteen and five feet and two inches.

"Yeah. Sorry I was mean the other day."

"It's fine. It's actually kind of hot," he says.

My face turns red. "Um thanks.. I think."

"I better go now. I would eat that before your parents find out," he says.

"Yeah I will. See you around," I say.

"See you," he says before leaving.

I sit down on my bed. I hear a crumbling sound and realize there is a note on my bed. I open it and read it.

_Think you could stop us by throwing the necklace?_

_Silly girl. We want more than a diamond. We want money. And we are not afraid to hurt you for it._

_Meet us at the same spot in the forest tomorrow at three or your fiancé gets hurt._

_You better have some kind of money._

_And, come alone. _

_From,_

_Gale, Katniss, Peeta, Madge, Finch and Marvel_

_(the "Capitol")_

My heart nearly stops. The gang from the forest were in my room less than an hour ago. They could somehow sneak in when I'm sleeping. I could be dead by morning. All because I was stupid and ran off.

I debate whether I should tell Cato. I promised that I would tell him if anything is wrong. Wait what am I thinking? This is Cato I'm thinking about. I don't even like him that way. Besides, he would just tell my parents and try to fight them. They are pretty skilled with weapons. They snuck up on me and I had no idea until there was a knife pressed on my throat.

I crumble the note up and toss it in the fire. I decide to solve the problem in the morning. It's too late to worry about it and I'm tired.

I change into my sleeping clothes and lay down gazing at my ceiling. What have I gotten myself into?

* * *

**Hey everyone! I already updated this a few hours ago, but I was bored and motivated, so I wrote another chapter of this and couldn't wait until tomorrow to post it. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Also, thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! You guys are the best!**

**~Cloverthg**


	6. Chapter 6: Something Never Felt

For the first time in my life, I have woken up with adrenaline. Normally, I wake up peacefully and then remembered my problems a few minutes later. But I didn't have any threats that could end my life or my fiancé's life then.

Should I go? Should I tell Cato? No, what am I thinking. He'll just tell my parents and they will send the army out to kill them. And the Capitol won't get killed. They will kill me instead.

I grab a ton of my gold statues and trinkets off my desk and throw them into a sack that I shove under my bed before the maids can come in.

After I eat breakfast, I head off to my class hoping that I will remember to go to the forest at three.

* * *

I glance at the clock during my "manners" class. It's two forty. Why does this class take so long?

The seconds tick by as I think how I can get out of this class.

I could just walk out? No. She'll follow you. I could knock her out. Yeah right and get all of my weapons taken away. Wait, no. I've got an idea.

"Uh Miss Trinket, I need to use the restroom?" I use the most lady-like, innocent voice that I have.

"Can you wait? We have twenty minutes left," she responds.

I shake my head no and she sighs. "Hurry up, then."

I smile and leave the room. After I close the door, I run to my room and change my flat shoes to boots that will be ok to ride in. I also grab the sack that I put under my bed. I close my door and cover it with a chair. Then I climb out of the window in my room and slowly lower myself to the nearest roof where I can slide to the ground. I saddle up my horse and take off to the woods.

I check my watch and see that I have five minutes until I'm supposed to be there. Lady Trinket must be having a freak back at the castle.

I gallop the horse to the clearing and tie him to the tree. I don't loosen the saddle and I make the knot easy to untie incase I need to escape quickly. I hide the many knives I brought in my shoes and pockets of my dress and tuck my sword into it's sheath on my belt.

The three minutes I have to wait seem like hours. But finally exactly at three o' clock, The Capitol gang walks into the open from the shadows.

"Smart move, Princess. You decided to show up," the girl with the braid says.

"Here," I say throwing the sack to their feet.

Gale picks it up and looks inside. "Ooh, good. These will be worth tons of dollars." He tosses the bag to the girl who smirks when she looks inside.

"So, why am I here again?" I ask, my voice hinting that I am bored.

They look at me. "Because we are going to make a deal with you," the girl says.

I roll my eyes. "What kind of deal?"

"We won't harm you or any of your family as long as you bring us this kind of stuff," Gale says.

"And why would I do that?" I ask.

"Because wouldn't it be a shame if Avenia lost their Prince and war broke out between the countries?" the girl says.

I glare at her. "You wouldn't dare harm Prince Cato."

She only laughs. "Oh, honey. I think we both know that I defiantly would."

I shut my mouth. I can't get in any more trouble than I already am.

"Fine," I say. "But not everyday. My family will grow suspicious."

They smirk. "Great! We'll see you in exactly two days from now."

I nod and climb onto my horse. I ride back to the castle glad to be under protection for once.

* * *

I walk around the halls looking for gold of some sort I could possibly take without my parents noticing. I come across a statue of a golden arrow pointed upwards. It's small, but beautiful. I hold it to figure out how much it might be worth when two hands grab me from behind.

I gasp and panic sets in. I turn around and see Cato's smiling face.

"Relax, Clover. It's only me," he says.

I sigh in relief. "Sorry. You've got to stop doing that!"

"Why are you so jumpy? Normally, you would just beat me up instead of panicking," he says.

Great. My fear of the Capitol is noticeable.

"I'm not jumpy," I say putting down the statue down.

"You know that you can tell me anything right, Clove?" he says in a concerned voice.

"I know, I'm fine. Trust me, nothing's wrong," I say quickly. He called me Clove, not Clover. He's actually serious now.

"Okay, but seriously, tell me if anything is wrong," he says.

I nod looking down.

"You know that you are beautiful right?" he asks suddenly.

I look up and he is smiling.

"You're not that bad yourself," I say and we lean in at the same time.

We're about to kiss when my mother comes walking down the hall. "Clove? Where are you?" Her voice echoes across the hallway.

Cato and I pull away quickly.

"Clove, the wedding is tomorrow. We have to plan, now," she says.

Cato looks at the floor and I blush. "Bye," I say and my mother leads me away.

For a moment, I actually felt like a normal girl. I still had butterflies in my stomach from when he called me beautiful.

I've never felt this way before, but I think it is love. It's about time, though. I mean, my wedding_ is _tomorrow.

* * *

**Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter!**

**I actually put some Clato in it finally. **

**Also this chapter is dedicated to Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He played Plutarch Heavensbee in Catching Fire and in case you haven't heard, he died today at the age of 46. RIP, Phillip. We will miss you.**

**Thank you for the reviews as well. I love you guys. 3**

**~Cloverthg**


	7. Chapter 7: Together As One

"Clove! Time to get up!" The maids burst into my room carrying a cart full of makeup, hair product and my dress.

"Ugh," I groan rolling over in my bed. "It's too early."

"We have a lot to do, Clove," the maids say as they pull the curtains open releasing a bright blast of sunlight into my room.

"Fine," I say getting up and yawning. They rush me to my bathroom and I put on a normal, casual dress for now. I walk to the dining room where my parents are eating breakfast.

"Oh, Clove! It's your big day!" my mother exclaims.

I try to smile. "Yay, I guess."

"I eat with them in silence until I finally decide to show some emotion.

"Mom, I'm scared," I mumble.

"What was that?" she asks.

I sigh. "I'm scared."

She smiles. "I was too. I was terrified. Your nerves will flush away once it starts, though."

I finish eating my breakfast and then I am rushed back to my room to prepare. First, the maids wash me down. They say they were scrubbing the dirt off my skin, but they really just scrubbed off the first few layers of my skin.

Then comes the waxing. They rip all the hair off my remaining layers of skin. As they rip, I grip the side of the table so tightly that my hand turns white. Why can't I just shave?

Finally they start to style my hair. They curl it just right so that it isn't curly, but wavy. They put a sparkling hair piece on the side of my head as well.

They then put my makeup on. I said to leave it natural so they did. And they did a good job with that. I had on mascara, minimal eyeliner, blush and lip gloss. Even though you can hardly see the eyeliner, it makes my green eyes glow.

I then slip on the dress. I look so natural, so pretty. I smile for the first time since my parents announced the engagement. No hint of a smirk in it. Just pure happiness. A feeling I never thought I would feel again.

* * *

When I am getting ready to walk down the isle, I'm feeling nothing but terror. This is no battle I've fought before.

This isn't like fighting a beast. I don't have a sword or knife to help me with this. I don't have years of training under my belt. No weapon will help me. I have to go out there and do something I've never done. And that is the worst fear I've ever felt.

The music starts playing and I close my eyes. I have to do this alone. I turned down all the offers of my family walking me down the isle and now I regret that decision. I take a deep breath, open my eyes and start walking.

I look around me. The entire country is here, watching my wedding. I smile and wave. My adrenaline and fear just vanishes into nothing. I feel safer and safer as soon as I get closer to Cato.

He smiles as I step up next to him. I smile back and the minister starts speaking.

After a boring forty five minutes of listening to stupid poems and crap, we finally get to the parts that people care about.

I speak my vows gracefully, something I never thought I could do. And finally we get to the "I Do's".

Cato goes first saying "I Do," loudly.

I go next. I don't even hesitate when I say, "I Do," loudly and clearly.

We slip the rings on each others fingers and finally, the minister says the words the entire nation has been waiting for.

"You may now kiss the bride," he speaks.

Cato and I look each other in the eyes and smile. Then we lean in and kiss. It is a long and pure kiss that lasts several seconds until we pull away gasping for air. The audience laughs. I couldn't think of a better way to have a first kiss.

Cato picks me up, which startles me and I let out a loud high pitched scream. He bursts out laughing and carries me out of the church bridal style to the carriage that will take us back to the castle for the party.

Once the horses start moving, we start talking.

"Well, what do you think?" I asked.

"That was something," Cato replies.

"Yeah, it was," I say. We have never had a real conversation before and this was quite awkward.

"Sorry I was mean before. I've never had any real friends before," I say breaking the silence.

"Don't worry about it. I was kind of annoying too," he replies.

"No really, I was a jerk," I say laughing.

"It doesn't matter. I've had a crush on you since we were kids," he says.

I blush. "Really?"

"Yeah. Funny how it worked out huh?"

I laugh. "Yeah."

We arrive at the castle. Cato helps me out of the carriage and we walk into the castle, hand in hand, now joined together as one.

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter. It's a Sunday night and I have a lot of homework to do. Also, sorry I don't know too much about weddings. I have to watch so many "Say Yes to the Dress" episodes to write this chapter.**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing and being awesome! I love you guys. :)**

**~Cloverthg**

**Wait that made it sound like the story is over. GUYS THERE WILL BE MORE CHAPTERS I PROMISE YOU!**


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